NEWS ROUNDUP June 2014

June 27, 2014
Vietnam War-era bomb found, defused in Laos capital

Laos authorities defused a 500-pound MK82 bomb from the Vietnam War found on the outskirts of the capital this week, the Vientiane Times reported. Read the rest at The Nation.

June 26, 2014
IDPs face landmine and UXO threat

IDPs are particularly vulnerable to the landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) littering the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, as they’re in unfamiliar territory. There is a little bit more to read over on the site of Guardian Witness.

June 24, 2014
Unexploded Ordnance in Darfur

In East Jebel Marra, eight cows were killed, and three others injured when an unexploded ordnance (UXO) detonated 2km west of Dalma Dalma village. A little bit more over at Radio Dabanga.

June 20, 2014
Unexploded Ordnance Found on Fort Riley (Kansas)

Since the ordnance could not be identified, Fort Riley officials temporarily evacuated about 60 residences in the area. The ordnance was removed and transported to a safe location for proper disposal. From the Hays Post.

June 15, 2014 Boys lose hands, legs as UXO detonates in North Darfur

Three boys were maimed in the area of Jebel Karo, North Darfur, on Friday when a grenade they found detonated. “Murtada Ibrahim Bakhit (16), his brother Abdel Bagi (11), and Abdel Hamid Suleiman Mousa (12) on Friday found a grenade in the area of Jebel Karo, about 20km south of Tawila town”, Omda Mousa Mukhtar Bush told Radio Dabanga. “When they started to play with it, the grenade detonated. The legs of Abdel Bagi were blown off. Murtada and Abdel Hamid lost their hands.” Radio Dabanga has the full story.

June 10, 2014 Dicing with death in the dark

IMAGINE you are diving in a muddy river with virtually zero visibility. Then imagine your objective is to find unexploded landmines. Mandurah Detective-Sergeant Tony Langer has experienced this many times. Read his story on the Australian site In My Community. In 2008, Sgt Langer watched an episode of Australian Story on the ABC that led him to help with the clearing of landmines from Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. Read the rest of the story at the Australian site In My Community.

June 9, 2014 This farmer can now work safely on his land for the first time in 40 years

“There were bombies [the local term for cluster submunitions] everywhere.” Fifty-nine year old Sithon Manyvong recalls returning home to Naphia in 1975 after the Vietnam War had ended. “Because there were no UXO clearance organisations at that time, we villagers had to move the bombies ourselves,” Sithon says. “We piled them up and covered them with firewood to burn them… and what did not explode we buried in the soil.” Read more from MAG at Thomson-Reuters.

June 6, 2014 Battambang pagoda’s pond held deadly UXO cache

Five unexploded ordnance (UXO) and 80 bullets were dug out from the drained pond of a Battambang pagoda yesterday. Authorities in Sangke district’s Anlong Vil commune spotted the devices on Wednesday, and deminers from the Cambodian Mine Action Centre yesterday dug through the emptied pond to find two anti-tank mines, a 60mm mortar, two DK-82 mortars and 80 MP5K bullets. More at The Phnom Penh Post.

Bomb clearance teams working on a 220-kilometrerail line in southern Laos have found nine unexploded devices along the route, a news report said. A hundred ordnance clearers were deployed along the 5-billion-dollar Savannakhet-Laobao railroad, which will link north-east Thailand to central Vietnam, the Vientiane Times reported. The Thailand-based Nation Online has more.

June 3, 2014 Fungi farming brings safe money to bomb-addled Quang Tri

Ever since the war, Quang Tri Province’s poor have made a dangerous living selling the unexploded remains of the US’s mammoth bombing campaign, but a new program gives them a safer option – planting fungi. “Growing mushrooms suits the disabled victims of bombs – those with disabilities and poor health,” said Do Thien Dang who lost his legs in an accident caused by unexploded ordnance (UXO). More at Thanh Nien News.

June 2, 2014 Three North Darfur children maimed by grenade

Three boys were maimed when a grenade they found and played with detonated in the area of Ba’ashim in North Darfur on Sunday. Apart from losing their hands, the boys sustained face, shoulder and leg injuries, a relative of one of the boys told Radio Dabanga. He said that he fears the boys may bleed to death, as there is no health centre in the neighbourhood. “The nearest hospital is in Mellit town, tens of kilometres away.” Read more on the story at Radio Dabanga.

June 2, 2014 Bomb blast kills two in southern Vietnam

Two men were killed on Sunday while trying to extract explosive from a Vietnam War era unexploded bomb they found near their home in the southern province of Dong Nai. They reportedly decided to extract explosives by sawing the bomb open. Their relatives and neighbors said they found Hung’s body in the kitchen pierced by many shrapnels. Meanwhile, parts of Minh’s body were found in the backyard, they said. More of the story at Thanh Nien News.